


my heart is wild and my bones are steel

by JadeLight



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But hopefully not, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Faelo, Memory Magic, Mutual Attraction, Rey might have to stab a bitch, asshole kylo ren, fae rey, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:01:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeLight/pseuds/JadeLight
Summary: “You know we can’t use magic to encroach on the free will of mortals, Rey, dear,” Maz told her patiently.Rey snorted. “Sure, sure, no magic, but if he doesn’t agree on his own a quick dagger to the heart is all right.”She's running out of time to change his mind, little does she know she'll change his heart instead.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43
Collections: A Picture is worth 1000 Words - PL Summer Exchange





	1. a heart as black as onyx

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andabatae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andabatae/gifts).



> Anda, I must admit I was very intimidated when I was given my assignment, because I love you and your writing. I loved your fairy prompt, and went wild from there. I really hope you enjoy where I've gone with it!
> 
> This was inspired by this lovely moodboard prompt:  
> 

Kylo Ren was an asshole. He had been told this numerous times in his life, and it had never mattered to him. Assholes got things done. Assholes didn’t take no for an answer. Assholes made their businesses _profitable_. So yeah, he was an asshole. Who cared? Certainly not Kylo Ren. Or, at least, that had been true before a slim woman in a flowing white dress poked him in the chest and accused him of being one.

And suddenly it mattered.

Kylo found her enchanting, which wasn’t even a word he was aware was in his vocabulary. Yet, here she was, yelling in his face about some land that his company was buying, and he found her _enchanting_. What the hell?

Kylo took a step away from her and resisted the urge to rub where she had quite vigorously poked him. She followed him quickly, seemingly determined to begin poking him again. “You absolute, utter, _asshole_ ,” the woman yelled at him. Who the hell _was_ this and where was his security?

“Lady, I don’t even know what the fuck you’re yelling at me about,” Kylo finally burst out, continuing to back away from the angry, firecracker of a woman until his back hit a parking meter and he nearly tripped.

The woman sputtered, almost seeming at a loss for words, before exclaiming, “Niima Forest! You’re planning to destroy it!”

Kylo stared at her. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but his development company had numerous projects in the works, and, whatever Niima Forest was, it wasn’t at the top of his list. “Okay… and?”

“ _And?_ ” The woman shouted back at him, seeming to grow in height and almost glowing with her unbridled anger. “Do you not realize how many you will kill or displace with this action? It will have devastating effects on the ecosystem!”

Kylo didn’t even try to stop himself from smirking. She was one of _those._ An environmental wacko who thought that animals mattered more than humans and that all progress should cease because it might inconvenience a squirrel. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than telling them exactly where they could stick their hippy-dippy ideals.

“I’ll be honest with you, lady, I don’t care a whole lot about the ecosystem in Niima Forest. I’m sure it’ll recover, and the subdivision we’re putting in will give homes to people who need them. Not that you probably care about _people_ though, right?”

“Oh _please,_ ” the woman replied, scorn apparent in her tone, “don’t act as though you care about the lives of humans any more than you care about any other creature. I can see your heart, Kylo Ren, and it is as black as onyx.”

Well, that was a new one. He’d never been told what gemstone his heart resembled before. What was this, a fucking Buzzfeed listicle? _‘10 Gemstones Your Internal Organs Might Resemble.’_ He’d have to add that to his list of things he’d been compared to. Usually people called him more colorful things, like “a pile of shit” (boring), a “douchenozzle” (he’s still not sure what that one meant, exactly), and “the seedy remains of Satan fucking his whores” (frankly, he had been impressed when Hux came up with that one).

“Listen, whatever you’re talking about is probably very important to you, but I don’t personally oversee the projects my company has running unless there’s an extremely particular need for it,” Kylo told her with an exasperated sigh, glancing at his watch and wondering where the hell his driver was. “So, unless you want to discuss this over drinks, you’re gonna have to stop poking me and leave me the fuck alone before I call my security team.”

The woman blinked at him for a moment, seemingly bewildered, before finally asking, “Did you just ask me on a date?”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t had dinner and you seem intent on laying into me. Might as well eat while you do it,” Kylo told her casually, figuring he’d either get something out of this highly unpleasant encounter with this startlingly beautiful woman (hate sex was always a good time) or throw her off so badly that she’d leave him alone. He hadn’t figured on neither happening.

“You are without a doubt the most vile, disgusting, and cold-hearted human I’ve ever met! I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last creature on earth!”

Kylo rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, nothing I haven’t heard before. So that’s a no on drinks, then?”

The woman bristled before spitting her response at him, “Of course it’s a no on drinks. I don’t want to go anywhere with you, I just want you to agree to spare a forest filled with thousands of living things who need it to survive!”

“Mmhmm, okay. You’re going to need to get away from me now, then.” Kylo muttered dismissively, typing out a message to his security inside, telling them they were needed in front of the building.

“There’s literally a field next to the forest that’s uninhabited and also for sale. Why not buy that instead of clearing a forest?” She argued, visibly reigning in her temper and trying to go for logic instead, as if that would sway him.

Kylo shrugged, “Like I said, lady, I don’t know the particulars. I would assume the field isn’t appropriate for some reason. Maybe it’d have to be leveled, maybe it has a Native American graveyard, maybe the owner wants more money for it.”

“Stop calling me ‘ _lady,_ ’” the woman complained. “My name is Rey. Is money all you care about?”

“Pretty much, lady.” Kylo perked up seeing three of the building’s security team approaching. “Oh great, look who’s arrived!”

The lady — Rey, apparently — turned to the security men and muttered a quiet, “Fuck.”

———

“Fuck,” Rey muttered to herself, knowing that possibly couldn’t have gone worse. She’d shouted and called him names. She’d poked him in the chest (his very firm chest, she grudgingly acknowledged) a _lot_ . But she couldn’t help it. When she’d seen him walking out of his highrise building looking _so damn smug_ while planning to destroy her home, the only home she’d ever had, she just felt so _angry._ He was such an asshole. A tall, broad shouldered, good looking asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

Rey sighed as the security men surrounded her, and knew Amilyn was not going to be happy with this turn of events. She’d been sent to convince Kylo Ren to save their home, not yell at and insult him.

“Miss, you need to leave this property,” a tall man with dark skin told her, not unkindly.

Rey figured she could argue that they were on the sidewalk and, thus, public property, but she didn’t want to risk them calling the police and getting more humans involved. As it was, she’d already have to expend considerable magic to clear herself from the memory of the three security men and the asshole masquerading as Kylo Ren. She’d have to try again, and she needed to get it right _this_ time. Clearly angrily ambushing him as he waited on his driver wasn’t the right approach.

“I’ll go, but Kylo, this is not over,” Rey warned, trying her best to take on the mysterious and commanding tone that Amilyn seemed to always have in her voice. “You need to change your plans. They cannot continue or bad things will happen.” 

Kylo narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you threatening me? Because I can assure you that that is a terrible idea. I have excellent lawyers and I’m friends with the D.A.”

Rey snorted. _Well, that clearly didn’t work._ “I’m not threatening you, I’m stating facts. As I said, thousands will die if you continue.”

Kylo sighed, clearly irritated, “All right, got it, PETA. You should leave now.” He brightened as his driver pulled up to the curb. Apparently her thrall had worn off on the driver faster than she had planned, Rey noted with annoyance. She’d have to get Amilyn to show her how to make that stronger before she tried again. _If_ she tried again.

“I’m going,” Rey told the guards with a roll of her eyes. “I was just _talking_ to him.”

Kylo folded his long body into the car and spared a last glance for her, “If that’s ‘talking,’ I’d hate to see what happens if you attack someone. We’re done here, unless you changed your mind on drinks?”

Rey clenched her fists to keep from magicking him into a toad or some other woodland creature. _Anything_ would be less obnoxious to deal with than the good looking man sitting in a town car in front of her. “I will never change my mind about _drinks_ , Mr. Ren. Not unless you change your _position_ on Niima Forest.”

Kylo smirked and gave a small shrug, “Pity.” He turned and looked to his security. “See that you get her picture and make sure that she’s banned from the building. I don’t want a repeat of this tomorrow.” With that he rolled his window up and the car pulled away from the curb.

“Oh, _fuck you_ ,” Rey yelled at his departing car, before lifting an eyebrow as she used her magick to wipe memory of her from Kylo and the three guards’ minds. The men surrounding her looked confused for a moment, apparently having no idea why they were standing outside, then nodded at Rey and made their way back inside. Rey had barely raised her hand to hail a taxi before one pulled up, and she climbed in while breathing a deep sigh.

“Where to, miss?” the driver, a bald man in his forties asked her, surprisingly polite for an Aldaraanian taxi driver.

“Outside town, Niima Forest. Do you know where that is?”

The driver turned around to look at her, “That’ll be a hefty fare, you sure you wanna go that far?”

“I’m sure,” Rey replied, settling into her seat. She had a few bills of human currency to use, enough for a taxi, at the very least. She could conceal herself and fly home if necessary, but it would be long and tedious, and frankly, she wasn’t in the mood.

“If you’re sure,” the man shrugged and pulled into traffic.

———

“We’re coming up on Niima Forest soon, miss, what address do you want to be dropped at?” the taxi driver asked, drawing Rey out of her contemplative reverie.

Rey shook her head slightly, jostling Kylo Ren out of her head, and gave the driver directions to the side road at the small lake. To the human eye it just looked like a turn-off for fishing and boating, but Rey could see the shimmering shield that guarded her home against humans.

“You sure this is where you wanna be left, miss?” The taxi driver asked skeptically, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “You don’t seem like the fishing type, no offense.”

“Here is good,” Rey told him cheerily, “I quite like fishing.” She flashed him a cheeky grin and handed him enough money to cover the meter and a tip as she slipped out of the car. She waited until he had backed out onto the main road, then turned to face the lake.

Rey sighed as she allowed her wings to unfurl. Being in the human world for so long and having to constantly use magic to hide her true appearance was taxing. Her wings, a deep blue at the edges that transitioned to a vibrant cyan in the center, glowed faintly. They were easily her favorite feature, and having to hide them so often felt _wrong_. Despite her adoption into the Fae, Rey was still mostly human and could blend in better than any of her family, so she was usually the one sent into the human world.

On days like today, though, she found herself wishing that wasn’t the case. Wishing that she could stay with her found family, where she was always welcome, if not entirely a perfect fit. Visiting Fae usually stared at her rounded ears, so out of place amongst the multitude of pointed ears, and her strangeness was compounded by her insistence on wearing her hair in the three buns that she was found in, despite long flowing locks popular among female Fae.

 _Not like I fit into the human world perfectly, either,_ Rey considered wryly, flapping her wings to sail over the shimmering water outside of her home. She dipped her hand into the water as she flew, a tradition begun when her best friend Finn had helped her acclimatize to her newly granted wings when they were children.

It had been a Big Deal when she was given her wings. She was a foundling, a child abandoned by her parents, and rescued by the Fae. Traditionally, every older Fae had to agree to grant wings to a human, to accept them as one of their own, before it was done. It was then that she knew that she finally had a family again. 

The clearing of her home came into view, treehouses appearing out of the gloom. Rey steered to the right as she passed Amilyn’s house, waving at a small child across the distance. One of Rey’s favorite homes was Amilyn’s, with its roof glowing a faint lilac color, and narrow four stories, tall and almost willowy, much like the woman herself. It looked regal, and Rey always smiled at seeing it. It stood near the entrance to their glen, and seeing it meant _home_.

Fae didn’t think of themselves as owners, so much as caretakers, and homes were passed to whomever needed one at the time, rather than to children or a direct relation. With time and magic, a Fae would imbue a bit of themselves into their home, giving their home something of their own appearance. 

She shared her house with Maz, an older Fae with wrinkles on her wrinkles, huge eyes, and a permanent smile on her face. Their house was one story, but positioned around a giant Sequoia tree, making it short and rounded. Maz had become Rey’s adoptive mother when she had been taken in by the Fae. While they all raised her to some extent, sharing in the responsibilities of teaching her about the magical world, Maz was the one who took her in, clothed her, and treated her like her own. Rey barely remembered her birth family, but there was a small part of her that still wished their leaving her had been a mistake, or that they had had no choice in the matter but Maz’s love eased the sting of those memories. Maz often said the day she found Rey in the forest was the best day of her life because it had given her the daughter she’d never known she needed.

Rey landed lightly on the walkway that bridged from her house to their neighbor, Poe’s, and pushed the door open as she walked inside. “Maz, I’m home!”

“That was quick, dear. You convinced him already?” Maz asked, as she stepped into the main sitting area of their home, and slowly settled herself into a comfortable seat made of driftwood from the river nearby.

Rey avoided meeting Maz’s eyes and ignored the question, “Did we get more nectar? We were out this morning, and I’m dying of thirst.”

Rey risked a glance at Maz and saw she had an eyebrow raised and a perceptive look on her face. “I got more nectar, but I take your change of subject to mean that you didn’t succeed?”

Rey sighed as she poured herself a drink. How did she explain to Maz that not only did she not succeed in her mission, but she’d done the exact opposite of Amilyn’s directions?

“You might say that,” Rey finally replied, quickly gulping down her nectar. “Um, I kind of yelled at him. And then kinda got dismissed by his security.”

“Well, that certainly could have gone better then, dear, but I’m sure you’ll do better next time.”

“That’s just it, Maz, I don’t know if there _should_ be a next time. He’s… infuriating. I don’t know if I’m the right Fae for this job.”

Maz peered at her with large eyes that always seemed to see right into Rey’s soul, “Do you really think that, or are you just scared?”

“I’m not scared,” Rey huffed. “Kylo Ren is just… I don’t think he’ll listen to me. I wish we could just use magic to change his mind. It’d save so much time.”

“You know we can’t use magic to encroach on the free will of mortals, Rey, dear,” Maz told her patiently, not for the first time.

Rey snorted. “Sure, sure, no magic, but if he doesn’t agree on his own a quick dagger to the heart is all right.”

Maz grinned fiendishly, “We’re Fae, dear, not angels. If his mind can’t be changed, we’ll hope he’s replaced by one that’s a bit more… pliable.”

“I don’t like him, but I also really don’t want to have to kill him, Maz.” Rey sighed.

“I know you’ll do the right thing when the time comes, but for now you need to think about your next approach. Did you clear his memory of your encounter?”

“Of course, and the three security guards that escorted me away from the property,” Rey told her, realizing too late that this gave more information than she’d intended.

Maz cracked an amused smile, “When you say you didn’t succeed, you weren’t joking, if they gave you an armed escort off the property.”

“I didn’t say they were armed!” Rey argued, deciding not to mention that they absolutely were.

Maz quirked an eyebrow and suppressed a grin. “Let’s just work on a plan for next time, shall we?”


	2. déjà vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite a rough start, Rey tries again, but will she have any more success this time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to my beta, [Ksco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ksco/pseuds/Ksco). She's seriously the best and I am forever grateful for her insights, ideas, and corrections!

Rey looked up at the skyscraper in front of her and chewed on her lower lip nervously. _I can do this. I can_ do _this. I just have to stay calm and politely convince him that destroying the only home I’ve ever known is a terrible idea. Easy._

The door of the building was flung open and Kylo Ren walked briskly towards the sidewalk, a cell phone pressed to his ear. Rey couldn’t help but stare at him. The man was infuriating, but also fascinating. He stood over six feet tall, with a wide chest covered by an impeccably tailored suit, dark hair that fell just over his ears, and a face with features that shouldn’t work, but just _did._ His large nose looked elegant when paired with his full lips, and the moles and beauty marks scattered over his face added to his looks rather than detracting from them. He currently sported a dark scowl on his face and seemed angry at whoever he was on the phone with. Having had that scowl turned towards her, Rey felt sympathetic to the caller. 

“No, I’ve told you already, Mother, I will not be attending the gala,” he snarled into the phone, and Rey immediately found herself annoyed that he’d speak to his own _mother_ that way. She clenched her fists and forced air into her lungs in a deep breath, knowing that getting angry at him again would just result in her yelling again.

“Excuse me, Mr. Ren, could I speak with you for a moment?” Rey asked, proud of the calm tone of her voice as she spoke.

Kylo spared her a glance before turning away slightly, “I’ve got to go, someone’s talking to me. Yes, Mother, I understand. No, I won’t be changing my mind. I’ve got to go. Goodbye.” He turned off the screen on his phone and turned back to Rey. “Yes? Make it quick, please. My driver will be here momentarily.”

Rey swallowed and began the speech she’d rehearsed with Maz the night before. “I was hoping I could talk to you about the Niima Forest project. Myself and many others are deeply concerned about the environmental impact of your company’s plans there.”

Kylo stared at her for a moment longer than was probably polite. 

“Have we met before?” He finally asked.

Rey shifted uncomfortably, not meeting his eyes. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I’m having the weirdest sense of déjà vu with you. You’re sure we haven’t met before?” Kylo was gazing at her with such intensity that Rey felt like he was seeing straight into her soul when she briefly met his eyes before letting them flit away.

“I’m pretty sure I’d remember if we had met before, Mr. Ren,” Rey snapped.

Kylo narrowed his eyes, clearly wracking his brain to place her. Rey felt a bit uncomfortable. He couldn’t _possibly_ remember her, even as a fleeting memory. Her magick wasn’t the strongest, but it was definitely strong enough to wipe a fifteen minute period from his mind. There was just no way. And yet… he wouldn’t stop staring at her.

“What did you say your name was?” Kylo asked her, still staring with unnerving intensity. His gaze pinned her, making her desperate to get out from under it, and yet, she needed to talk to him. She _had_ to.

“I didn’t, actually. My name is Rey, Mr. Ren.” Rey fidgeted with the edge of her flowing yellow shirt. She had chosen it because it looked nice against her tanned and freckled skin, hoping that if Kylo noticed it he might be more likely to feel positively towards her.

Kylo shook his head as if to clear it, and raised an eyebrow at her. “So what about Niima Forest? Are you part of the project? If so, you need to speak to your direct superior, not me.”

“I’m not part of the project,” Rey clarified, “I just wanted to speak with you about the environmental impact of it. There are many species that live in that forest and in the lake there that will die if the project continues. Rare species that we need to protect.”

Kylo sighed audibly. “The EPA is on our ass enough about environmental issues. If the project is going forward then we’ve already done an environmental study on it, as we’re required to do for every design.”

Rey couldn’t help but let a slight scowl color her features as she straightened her shoulders. “That’s not true, though, is it? First Order has _friends_ in the EPA, and somehow they always seem to look the other way as your company destroys entire ecosystems. Don’t you care?”

“I might care, if what you were saying was true, which it’s not,” Kylo told her with no small amount of venom. “We dot our I’s and cross our T’s. I’m not sure where you got your information from, but it’s _wrong._ ”

Rey was surprised at the vehemence with which he answered her accusation. From her research into the First Order, it seemed fairly common knowledge that they bribed their way into approvals to demolish protected land, but she couldn’t help but wonder now if he actually wasn’t aware of that. Would he care if she could prove how devastating the razing of the forest would be for the environment there, not just her own home? Based on their previous interaction she rather doubted it, but maybe he had just been reacting to being yelled at and jabbed multiple times. She did have to admit that wasn’t her finest hour.

“Do you really believe that?” Rey asked, cautiously.

Kylo clenched his jaw as he regarded her question, “Of course I do. I know you hippies would prefer we all go back to living in caves or maybe ceased to exist, but the fact is we provide housing for hundreds of thousands of people, and we make sure we’re not destroying the world as we do it.”

Rey pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she thought about how best to ask her question, hoping she could make him see reason. “If… if I could prove to you that that isn’t true, would you consider changing your approval on the Niima Forest project?

“I don’t have time to deal with this right now, lady. I need to go. You can make an appointment with my secretary if you’d like to discuss this further, but for now, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me alone.”

“What if… what if we discussed it over dinner?” Rey asked tentatively, thinking back to their previous interaction.

———

Kylo was not having a good day. Hux had been on his ass all day complaining about some inconsequential thing that he’d decided was imperative, his secretary was out due to a stomach bug, and his mother had called. She’d invited him to this year’s gala, not taking the hint after he’d declined to attend the past five years. She remained annoyingly hopeful that fences could be mended in their relationship, but Kylo had no such illusions.

And now, he was dealing with a distractingly good looking woman who seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t for the life of him place from where he might know her. She insisted on talking to him about some forest clearing project that he assumed he’d approved, but had no memory of it. He just wanted to go to his apartment, order takeout, work for a few hours in his home office, workout, and go to bed. Was that so much to ask?

He brushed her off, turning back toward the traffic to wait on his driver when she asked him another question. Sure that he must have misheard her, he faced her again and asked, “Excuse me?”

The brunette looked uncomfortable and stared resolutely at his shoes, “I, um, asked if maybe we could continue talking about it over dinner?”

Kylo narrowed his eyes at her. She was asking him out, ostensibly to talk about some project, but it was also very possible that she was someone interested more in his status and money, rather than any forest. “You’re asking me out?” He asked, his voice dripping with incredulity.

She squared her shoulders and seemed to gather her courage. “It wouldn’t be a date. I just need to talk to you about this. It’s very important to us— to me. I would really appreciate it if you would just hear me out.”

Kylo scrutinized the woman for a moment, taking in her buns (who wore their hair in multiple buns?), her flowing yellow shirt (which he had to admit looked very nice against her skin), and her grey slacks that clung to her gentle curves. She might just want to talk about a forest. She might want to get him into bed. She might just want his money. He wouldn’t mind one of those outcomes at all, and his interest in it outweighed the risk of the other two.

“Fine. We can discuss this at dinner, then.”

The woman (shit, what did she say her name was again?) seemed genuinely shocked at his acquiescence. “Oh! Okay, that would be great. Thank you!”

They stood in an awkward silence for a moment, before Kylo felt the need to break it. “What did you say your name was?” Not his proudest small talk.

“Oh,” the brunette looked pleased he was asking. “It’s Rey. Rey… Johnson?” her voice went up involuntarily on the last word, making the name come off as a question.

Kylo had the strangest feeling that she had just made up her last name, which was interesting, to say the least. He mentally added a score mark to the _‘wants my money’_ scoreboard. “Kylo Ren. I guess it’s nice to meet you?”

Rey laughed. “Was that a question?”

Kylo considered the question. “I guess it was. I don’t really enjoy arguing with tree huggers about my company, but you don’t seem awful. At least you’re pretty.”

Rey's eyebrows shot up as a surprisingly delightful snorting laugh escaped her. “Well, you’re charming.”

“That’s what everyone calls me: charming,” Kylo deadpanned. He was actually flirting with this woman. If Hux were here, he would be asking if he was feeling all right, since he said Kylo didn’t flirt with women, he intimidated them into going home with him. Kylo thought this was an unfair description. He just happened to be tall and rather intimidating in general.

A black town car pulled up to the curb, and Kylo opened the door and climbed in, leaving Rey standing on the sidewalk somewhat awkwardly. Kylo waited a moment, then rolled his eyes and leaned back towards the opening and called out impatiently to the woman, “Are you coming?”

“Oh, right. I wasn’t sure if I was invited,” Rey said, sliding onto the seat beside him.

“It seems like riding together to a restaurant would be the most prudent course of action,” Kylo replied, with a small amount of irritation. “Unless you’d rather take a taxi?”

“No, no, this is fine,” Rey said while absentmindedly running her hand along the buttery soft leather of the seat.

Kylo suppressed a small smile as he noticed how enamored she seemed to be with the seat, and cleared his throat. Maybe getting her into bed wouldn't be that difficult after all. “Did you have a restaurant in mind?”

Rey stopped rubbing the seat and looked up at Kylo blankly, “Oh! No, I hadn’t given it any thought, to be honest. I’m not in the city very much.”

Kylo mentally added a tick to the treehugger tally, and looked her over. Nowhere very fancy would do, she wasn’t dressed for it, but he wasn’t going to eat at a _chain_ restaurant. He still had standards, no matter who he was out with. “We’ll go to Bespin, Rodinon,” he leaned forward, telling his driver.

Rodinon gave a small nod and pulled into traffic. Kylo surveyed his companion, giving her all of his attention for the first time since they’d settled in the car. She looked very self-conscious and had begun to run her hand along the seat beside them again, taking care to never touch his leg. Her shoulders were slightly hunched away from the seat back, as though she found leaning against it uncomfortable. She was turned slightly away from him, looking out the window as the city streets passed by. 

Kylo took the opportunity to admire her graceful neck and back, a smooth expanse of tanned skin exposed by her low-backed shirt. She really was a lovely looking creature, he had to admit. Perhaps dinner wouldn’t be such a chore with her, as long as she didn’t insist upon talking about the environment the entire time. She didn’t look like the usual granola hippies who protested outside his building. She looked more… “sophisticated” wasn’t exactly the right word. He had a strong feeling she would feel out of place in heels and a designer dress, but she had a subtle elegance to her that didn’t fit with a tree hugger.

Rey gave a slight start and turned back towards him. “I’m sorry, I got distracted.”

Kylo raised a brow at her. “That’s all right. What were you distracted by?” He couldn’t place why he was indulging this woman. He wanted to sleep with her, of course, she was beautiful, but there was something enchanting about her that seemed to draw him to her.

Rey’s eyes widened at the question, then she sighed almost imperceptibly. “I was just thinking about the city, and how different it is compared to my home. There’s so many _people_ here, and it’s so busy.”

“You’re from somewhere outside the city, I take it, then?” Kylo asked, puzzled slightly by the emphasis on “people” in her statement and wondered if she might have grown up on a farm or somewhere else surrounded by animals more than people.

Rey nodded, looking back out the window again, “I grew up in a small village. There weren’t many of us, just a couple hundred, probably? How about you?”

“I grew up in the city,” Kylo replied shortly. He had no interest in explaining his lonely childhood to anyone.

“Oh, well, that must have been pretty exciting,” Rey replied, turning back to him.

Kylo thought back to his childhood of private schools, tutors, nannies, and his uncle’s boarding school, of nights spent alone, waiting for parents that were out ‘ _changing the world_.’ “Not particularly.”

The car pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant entrance and his driver opened the door next to him, allowing Kylo to exit first. When Rey had joined him, Kylo gave his name to the maître d' and they were quickly seated. With a smirk, Kylo noted Rey’s puzzled look over her shoulder at the groups of people still waiting to be seated.

“Did you have a reservation?” she asked, after sitting down at a quiet table near the back.

“I have a standing reservation here,” Kylo replied, smoothly. “I invested in the restaurant, and that comes with a few perks.”

Rey blinked at him, then looked around the casually elegant restaurant. “You _own_ this place?”

“I am an investor, so I own a portion of it, not the entirety. They were having some troubles a few years ago and I invested and implemented some changes to make the business profitable again.”

Rey looked thoughtful, “Oh. That was nice of you.”

Kylo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The business was owned by one of his unofficial uncles, but he did not invest to be _nice_. He saw an opportunity to improve a floundering but promising restaurant, and make a profit in the deal. His Uncle Lando had threatened his life multiple times during the renovations and modifications, resisting change, but the restaurant was once again popular and profitable, so he no longer complained.

“It was a good investment,” Kylo replied simply.

Rey nodded, then studied her menu seriously. Kylo did not bother looking at his menu, as he knew exactly what was on it, and exactly what he would be ordering, instead he studied Rey. She appeared to be quite young, maybe her early twenties, though that would often fit for the tree hugging college crowd. He wondered idly if she attended Aldera University, or if she went to a state school. Judging by her clothes, she was at least mildly well off. They were stylish and well made, but not designer. Rey looked up at him suddenly, startling him out of his reverie.

“So many things sound delicious. Do you have any favorites?” she asked him, eagerly.

“The mushroom stroganoff and the eggplant parmigiana are both excellent here.”

Rey’s eyes widened at him, “Those both sound delicious. I can’t choose… you pick one for me.”

Their server appeared at their table as though summoned, and Kylo ordered the mushroom stroganoff for himself, and both meals for Rey, along with wine pairings for both. Rey gaped at him. “I didn’t need both, you were just supposed to pick one of them!”

“You should try them both, and I have no intention of sharing mine,” Kylo replied smoothly, holding her gaze. “I am not accustomed to sharing.”

———

Rey had to look away from Kylo's piercing caramel eyes before he saw through her. She resisted the urge to shiver at the heat in his look. She couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t talking about _food_ when he said he wasn’t one to share. _Get ahold of yourself, Rey, you have a job to do, and that job is not throwing yourself at Kylo Ren. Even if that is_ really _tempting._

“Oh. Well, I promise not to eat anything off of your plate. I don’t really like sharing either, it’s a habit from childhood, I guess,” Rey cut herself off, realizing she was babbling. Why was she suddenly so nervous around this man? She was here to convince him not to destroy her home and a forest that housed thousands of animals, not to tell him her life story.

Kylo tilted his head slightly, giving her a quizzical look, “A habit from childhood?”

Rey pulled her lower lip between her teeth, feeling nervous. “I, um, my parents weren’t the best. They forgot to feed me sometimes, so when I got food I always ate as much as I could. I don’t remember them well, but being hungry is something I associate with that time. Sometimes I’d go to daycare and I never wanted to share the snack they’d give us because that might have been the only food I’d get that day.” Rey shrugged, feeling awkward having revealed so much about a childhood she could hardly remember. “I guess it was probably selfish.”

“That doesn’t seem selfish to me, but I say that as an admittedly selfish person,” Kylo told her, taking a sip of the wine the waiter had just set down.

Rey thanked the waiter and took a tentative sip from her glass as well, making a face as she put it back down, then quickly swallowed some of her water. _I think that’s gone bad,_ she thought, with disappointment, having been excited to try wine for the first time.

“Is the wine not to your liking?” Kylo asked, looking like he was trying to suppress a smirk as he took another small sip.

“Oh, no, it’s fine, I’m sure!” Rey told him, giving him a beatific smile, but she couldn’t stop herself from blurting a follow up question. “It’s supposed to taste like that, then?”

Kylo did smile then, and Rey’s breath caught. He had a wonderful smile, with slightly crooked teeth, and his amusement shining through. He put it away all too quickly, catching himself. “It is, yes. This is an excellent vintage, in fact. It can be an acquired taste, however. I take it that it’s your first time having a Chianti?”

Rey felt herself blushing, “It’s my first time having wine. I don’t think I like it. I’ll just stick with water, it’s more familiar.”

“Very well,” Kylo replied.

Rey took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to get the conversation back on her mission. Just blurting out ‘ _please don’t destroy the only place I’ve felt at home_ ’ didn’t seem like the best approach, but she had to start somewhere. She let out her breath and ventured forth. “So, could we talk about Niima Forest again?”

Kylo raised an eyebrow at her. “Why do you care so much about this particular forest?”

“I love it. I’m there almost every day. It’s the home to so many amazing living things, from the runyips to the rare zeer. We even sometimes see whisper birds building temporary nests when they’re migrating!” Rey couldn’t help the excitement in her voice, she loved her forest more than she could truly express in words. It was _home_.

“We?” Kylo asked, and Rey cringed at her mistake.

“Um, I go with some friends sometimes.”

Kylo narrowed his eyes at her. “Is this an environmental group of some sort? Should we expect people chaining themselves to trees?”

Rey laughed, “I hadn’t thought of that. Would that stop anything?”

“No, but it would be an annoyance. We would have to get the police involved and that involves tedious paperwork for my company. Or I assume it does, I would not be the one filling it out.”

Rey rolled her eyes and muttered, “You’re kind of pompous, you know that, right?”

“And you’re not the best at flattering someone to get your way,” Kylo replied, sounding amused.

“I’m not trying to flatter you,” Rey countered, her voice rising slightly as she spoke. “I’m just trying to save a beautiful forest home for thousands. If you really understood I know there’s no way you would approve of destroying it.”

Their food arrived, and Kylo waited until the server had walked away to respond. “I very much doubt that to be true. I am not one for camping or the outdoors. I don’t really care about squirrels or runyips.”

“What do you care about?” Rey asked, taking a bite of her food. She couldn’t help a slight groan at the delicious taste of the eggplant parmigiana.

Kylo stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head slightly. “What did you ask?”

“I asked what _do_ you care about,” Rey replied, spearing a bite of pasta this time. It was just as heavenly as the parmigiani and her eyes slid closed in ecstasy. Kylo was right to have ordered her both meals.

“I, um…” Kylo cleared his throat and adjusted his position on his seat slightly. “I care about what’s best for my company. What’s best for the employees, what’s best for the investors.”

“So what’s best for your wallet, then?” Rey asked, skeptically.

Kylo took a bite of his food and chewed for a moment before responding. “I suppose you could put it that way. It’s not how I would put it, but you _could_ put it that way. It just happens that what’s best for my wallet also happens to be what’s best for hundreds or thousands of other people.”

Rey rolled her eyes, “Yes, I’m sure that you’re really a philanthropist at heart. You just hide it normally, right?”

“I’ve never claimed to be a philanthropist; my mother took that mantle on,” he told her, a touch of bitterness to his tone. “However, my work does benefit many people, and to pretend otherwise would be insincere. Obviously I enjoy that I profit from it, but I do get a certain satisfaction from a deal where the benefit lies in my favor.”

Rey considered this for a moment, chewing another bite of her pasta and wondering if this made Kylo better or worse as a person. She shrugged slightly and decided it didn’t really matter. He was going to be instrumental in destroying her _home,_ in displacing or killing thousands of living beings, including her family and many rare species. It was more than just the home of the Fae, if she was being honest with herself. Innocent lives were at stake here.

Did it really matter if he felt good if a deal benefited his employees more? They would still be paid even if he built his stupid subdivision in the field next to the forest. Maybe his company would make slightly less money, but it was not as though any of them would starve or end up homeless. They just might not receive as large a bonus. She said as much to him as she took another bite of her food and waited for him to contemplate his answer.

“No one may starve if my company makes less money, at least not in the immediate, but if we make less money we may have to make staffing cuts, and then you have families that suddenly have one fewer paycheck coming in,” Kylo pointed out reasonably. “For some people, that could be the difference between plenty and hunger, a roof or homelessness.”

Rey raised an eyebrow and speared a bit of eggplant. “Is your company close to that? Is it so close to being out of money that you would need to get rid of lots of people?”

In truth she knew that his company was doing extremely well, with diversified means of profit. Amilyn had once told her that when dealing with humans, it was best to ask questions to which she already knew the answer, for they were wont to lie without thought.

“We are not,” Kylo conceded, “but that doesn’t mean that it’s out of the realm of possibility. A company can easily go from profitable to bankruptcy with just a few bad decisions.”

“And you think not destroying this forest would be a bad decision?”

Kylo rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. “I wouldn’t put it that way, but if the decision was made to go ahead with the Niima Forest project, then I have to assume that it was in the best interest of my company. I did not personally oversee it, but I employ people who know what they are doing.”

Rey couldn’t help leaning forward a bit, her tone of voice raising a bit as she asked, “Then how would you put it? How would you describe what your _company_ is going to be doing?”

“We’re reappropriating the land,” Kylo told her simply.

Rey snorted a laugh, not even bothering to try and conceal it. This man was infuriating. “Reappropriating” indeed. He didn’t know or care what happened to Niima Forest and its inhabitants, he didn’t love the trees, the pond, the animals. The only way she would be able to convince him to change the plans would be if she could prove that it would somehow be worse for him and his company, not better for everyone else.

“The land doesn’t need to be reappropriated,” Rey told him vehemently. “It’s doing its job perfectly well already, offering shelter and homes to everything that lives there. If you destroy it, and that _is_ what you would be doing, no matter how you decide to phrase it, you’ll be responsible for the deaths of thousands. Your company can survive a different decision, the forest and its inhabitants cannot survive your current one.”

“Ms. Johnson,” Kylo said her made up name with enough condescension to make Rey grit her teeth, “I’m sure you feel very passionately about the forest and its animals. That’s laudable, but unfortunately passion cannot be what I base my decisions on.”

“It’s Rey, and apparently this is pointless. You don’t care about anything besides your bottom line,” Rey said, her words calm and measured to cut like a knife. “I’m disgusted by your callousness.” Rey raised her hand in the air, looking for their server, her anger growing by the second.

“What are you doing?” Kylo asked her, a sigh in his voice.

“I’m looking for our server so I can pay my portion of the bill,” Rey gritted out.

Kylo took a final bite of his food, pulled a few bills out of his wallet for a tip, and stood from the table. “There’s no bill, I’m an investor in the restaurant.”

“Fine,” Rey told him, and started digging in her pockets for the small amount of human money she had brought with her for necessities. “I’ll pay you, then.”

“I don’t need your money, Rey,” Kylo told her with more than a bit of annoyance coloring his tone. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Rey pulled a few bills out of her pockets, trying to remember how much her meals had cost. She had wanted to take the extras home for Finn and Maz to try, but she wasn’t going to wait around for them to be packed up now. She wanted to get out of there, to not have to deal with Kylo and his insufferable attitude anymore. She shoved a couple of bills into his hand and closed his fingers over them. “Here. Hopefully that covers it.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Rey,” Kylo repeated, looking irritated at suddenly having several crumpled bills in his possession.

“So you’ve said,” Rey retorted, and started making her way towards the exit, not bothering to make sure Kylo was following. “I don’t care.”

Their server stopped her on her way to the exit, asking if everything was okay. Rey assured him that the meal had been delicious, and thanked him for his help before continuing to leave.

———

Kylo stuffed the bills he’d been handed into his pocket and followed Rey towards the door. Where had the dinner gone so wrong? It had started out almost flirty, and he’d certainly wanted to continue along that line, but the frustrating woman had insisted on talking about _a forest_ the entire time. It seemed that despite everything she was indeed just a treehugger, hoping for nothing more than to keep him from a lucrative business deal. How disappointing.

She had stopped to sincerely thank their server, Mikal, before barrelling on towards the exit. Kylo gave Mikal a nod as he passed, following in Rey’s wake. As they reached the street he finally called out to her, taking hold of her wrist to halt her. “Ms. Johnson… Rey, stop.”

Rey whirled with a flutter of her shirt, jerking her wrist out of his grasp as she shouted at him, “Don’t tell me what to do, Mr _._ Ren!”

Kylo stopped short. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shouted at him. Snoke had spoken harshly to him before his death, but it was never quite shouting, usually more hissed threats and insults. It was probably his father, he supposed. He and Han had always been able to get into shouting matches over even the smallest things. To have this diminutive brunette shout at him so fiercely was strange and oddly enticing.

“You speak about doing the best for others, you talk as though you _care_ , but you don’t care about anyone except yourself! Don’t tell me what to do, and _don’t_ touch me!” Rey continued shouting, seeming to be unaware of the many people waiting outside the restaurant watching them.

Kylo bristled and glared at her. “Fine. _Fine._ If that’s how you feel, then fine. I was going to offer to have my driver take you wherever you’re staying, but I assume that wouldn’t be welcome. Have a nice evening, _Ms. Johnson._ ”

“You’re right, I don’t need you or your driver,” Rey flung the words at him and turned on her heel, striding furiously away from him. As she did so, Kylo could have sworn that he saw a flash of blue at her back, and he took an involuntary step forward to get a better look. Her back seemed completely normal upon closer inspection, and he shook his head, assuming it was either a light on the street or he’d had more wine than he realized. 

Wine or not, he didn’t need to spend any more time with this odious woman. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and texted his driver, requesting an immediate pick up. Rey had stalked a few feet away and was resolutely holding her arm up, trying to hail a cab. Kylo rolled his eyes and ignored her, typing a message on his phone to his assistant, asking her to have the files on the Niima Forest project ready for him tomorrow. _Not_ because of Rey, but because he’d not paid enough attention to that project, and he wanted to make sure everything was going how it should be.

A raindrop fell on his phone’s screen as he finished his message, and Kylo looked up at the sky. The full moon was obscured by dark clouds, and another few drops fell onto his upturned face. Backing under the restaurant’s awning, Kylo cursed silently and hoped his driver had found parking close by as he didn’t have any desire to return home soaked. Involuntarily he glanced toward where Rey still stood, her posture tense as she continued waving towards any taxi that passed by, seemingly without luck.

His car pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant and Kylo ducked his head down as he rushed through the increasing rain to his car. As he settled into the seat he sighed and told Rodinon to stop in front of Rey, then he opened the door and called to her, “Get in, Rey.”

Rey refused to look at him as she stood shivering with her arms crossed across her chest. “I’m fine. I’ll get a taxi.”

“You will not find a taxi in this rain, Rey. Get in the damn car,” Kylo replied through gritted teeth.

“Then I’ll wait it out.”

Kylo glared at her for a moment, trying to decide if forcing her into the car would get him arrested. With the mood she was currently in, he wouldn’t put it past her. With another sigh, he softened his voice. “Rey, you’re shivering. Get in the car. I’ll have Rodinon take you wherever you want to go.”

Rey finally looked at him, and with a slump of her slim shoulders she slid into the car beside him, sitting stiffly and dripping water on the leather, keeping her arms crossed. Her body trembled and her chin wavered slightly as she tried to stop her teeth from chattering.

“Where do you need to go, Rey?” Kylo asked gently, turning the heat on and feeling some regret at not having a coat to offer the obviously freezing woman.

“It’s out of the city. It’d probably be better if you were dropped off first, then maybe your driver can leave me somewhere covered and I can find a taxi,” she said quietly.

Kylo took a deep breath through his nose, stopping himself from snapping at her for being so annoyingly stubborn. “Rey, I will have Rodinon take you wherever you need to go. I am not a complete monster, I won’t make you stand outside in the rain waiting forever for a taxi, which, I’ll add, you _won’t_ find while it’s raining.”

Rey’s posture had relaxed slightly, and she had uncrossed her arms. Kylo couldn’t help noticing how sheer her shirt had become while wet, and allowed himself only a short glance at the tantalizing nipples he saw poking through it. He swallowed and shifted in his seat, trying not to imagine how they might feel under his hands, his tongue. This is not what he needed to be thinking about while sitting beside a woman who clearly hated him. Hate sex may be a favorite pastime of _his_ , but he was fairly sure Rey would not be amenable.

Rey seemed to be considering her answer before she spoke. With her own deep breath, she finally replied, “If you insist, he can drop me off. Thank you.” The last two words seemed to be dragged from her, and Kylo couldn’t help a small amused smirk at how little she seemed to want to thank him.

“You’re welcome,” Kylo told her, and noticed her eyes were lingering on his lips, and his own dropped to hers. He unconsciously licked his lips, and felt a strong urge to close the distance between them, to graze his lips across hers, to see if they felt as soft as they looked.

As if sensing his thoughts, Rey leaned slightly towards him, her eyes still on his mouth. Kylo met her halfway, brushing his lips across hers, and with a soft gasp hers opened and Kylo took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. 

Kylo enjoyed the slide of her tongue against his, and the soft warmth of her mouth. He put his hands around her slim waist and moved closer to her on the seat, while Rey’s hands came up to his jacket’s lapels and pulled him tighter against her. Kylo ran one hand along her back under her shirt, then stilled suddenly, his fingers grazing against a low slung strap and something colder, and far more chilling. He put his hand around what felt like metal and pulled away from the kiss, his eyebrows knitting together as his eyes fell on the dagger in his hand.

“Rey, what’s this?”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on Twitter [@JadeLight13](https://twitter.com/jadelight13/).


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